Compare Mounds Car Insurance Prices With These Methods

Are you intimidated by the crazy number of car insurance company choices in Mounds? You're not the only one! People have so many companies to choose from that it can turn into more work than you anticipated to find lower rates.

It's important to price shop coverage every six months because rates are constantly changing. Even if you got the best price a few years ago a different company probably has better rates today. Forget anything you know (or think you know) about car insurance because you're about to learn the tricks you need to know to get good coverage at a lower rate.

The purpose of this article is to help educate you on how to effectively get price quotes and some money-saving tips. If you currently have car insurance, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your premiums substantially using this strategy. Illinois drivers only need an understanding of the most efficient way to shop for car insurance over the internet.

These discounts can lower your rates

The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, buy you may qualify for discounts to reduce the price significantly. Certain discounts will be applied at the time of purchase, but a few need to be manually applied prior to receiving the credit. If you don't get every credit possible, you are throwing money away.

55 and Retired - If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may be able to get a discount up to 10%.
Multiple Vehicles - Buying coverage for multiple vehicles on one policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
Bundle and Save - If you have multiple policies with one insurance company you may save 10% to 20% off each policy.
Early Switch Discount - Some insurance companies reward drivers for switching to them prior to your current policy expiring. It's a savings of about 10%.
Passive Restraint Discount - Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can receive discounts of up to 25% or more.
Payment Method - If you pay your bill all at once instead of monthly or quarterly installments you could save 5% or more.
Discount for Life Insurance - Larger companies have a break if you buy life insurance from them.

It's important to understand that most credits do not apply to all coverage premiums. Some only reduce individual premiums such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though it sounds like you could get a free car insurance policy, it doesn't quite work that way. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce the cost of coverage.

Learn How to Buy Car Insurance Cheaper

Smart consumers have a good feel for some of the elements that help determine your car insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively determines base rates helps enable you to make changes that may reward you with better car insurance rates.

The following are a few of the "ingredients" that factor into rates.

Older drivers pay less - Young drivers in Illinois are known to be more careless when behind the wheel so car insurance rates are higher. Older insureds are viewed as being more responsible, tend to cause fewer accidents and get fewer tickets.
Do you know your deductibles? - Physical damage coverage, otherwise known as comp (or other than collision) and collision, is used to repair damage to your car. Some examples of claims that would be covered are a windshield shattered by a rock, collision with an animal, and rolling your vehicle. Your deductibles are how much you are required to spend in the event of a claim. The higher the amount the insured has to pay upfront, the less your car insurance will be.
More people means more accidents - Choosing to live in a small town can be a good thing when it comes to car insurance. City drivers tend to have much more traffic and longer commute times. Less people living in that area means reduced accidents.
What type of vehicle do you drive? - The performance level of the vehicle you own makes a big difference in how high your rates are. The lowest rates are for low performance passenger vehicles, but other factors influence the final cost greatly.
Better credit scores mean better rates - Credit history is a important factor in calculating your car insurance rates. If your credit rating is not that good, you could potentially save money when insuring your by improving your rating. Consumers who have high credit scores tend to be less risk to insure than drivers with lower credit scores.
Your car's features help determine rates - Choosing a vehicle with an alarm system can help lower your rates. Theft prevention features like vehicle immobilizer systems, General Motors OnStar and LoJack tracking systems can thwart your car from being stolen.

Are you falling for claims of savings?

Consumers get pounded daily by advertisements that promise big savings from companies such as Progressive, GEICO, Allstate and State Farm. They all seem to say the same thing of big savings after switching your policy.

But how can every company make the same claim?

Different companies are able to cherry pick for the right customer that earns them a profit. For example, a desirable insured could be between the ages of 30 and 50, has no driving citations, and has a short commute. A customer who fits that profile will get very good rates and as a result will probably save a lot of money.

Potential customers who are not a match for this ideal profile will have to pay higher prices which usually ends up with business going elsewhere. The ads say "customers that switch" not "everybody who quotes" save that kind of money. That's the way insurance companies can confidently make the claims of big savings.

Because of the profiling, drivers should quote coverage with many companies. Because you never know which car insurance company will fit your personal profile best.

Additional car insurance information can be found on the Illinois Department of Insurance website located here. Consumers can read enforcement actions against agents and companies, report car insurance fraud, and view agent and company licensing information.

Also read more on this Car Insurance FAQ and this page of insurance agents in Mounds.

And the best car insurance company is...

As you shop your coverage around, don't be tempted to skimp on coverage in order to save money. There are many occasions where someone sacrificed physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that saving that couple of dollars actually costed them tens of thousands. Your aim should be to find the BEST coverage at a price you can afford.

Low-cost car insurance can be purchased from both online companies in addition to many Mounds insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both so you have a total pricing picture. Some insurance providers do not provide you the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

We just showed you a lot of information how to reduce car insurance prices online. The most important thing to understand is the more times you quote, the better your comparison will be. Drivers may discover the lowest rates come from a small local company.